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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. toast — bread
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pitch — completely
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. file — a document
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. land — ground
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — a country
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com